Sports

CLASS A PLAYOFF

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FIRST ROUND BYES: #1 Laurel, #2 Hamilton. #3 Lewistown. #4 Polson. FIRST ROUND: #9 Miles City 21, #4 Columbia Falls 20; #12 Libby 12, #5 Billings Central 54; #10 Dillon 14, #5 Sidney 17; #11 Frenchtown 24, #6 Whitefish 13.

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: #11 Frenchtown (7-3) at #1 Laurel (8-0); #5 Billings Central (7-2) at #4 Polson (9-0); #9 Miles City (5-4) at #2 Hamilton (9-0); #7 Sidney (5-5) at #2 Lewistown (7-1).

First Round Recaps

Montana Western Dawgs eclipse MSUN, 63-7

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The pendulum continues to swing wide in both directions and then wider in 2021 for the University of Montana Western football team.

A week after lapsing late to its most damaging setback of the season at College of Idaho, the UMW Bulldogs on Saturday took their most emphatic journey in the opposite direction with a 63-7 road-killing of Montana State University-Northern.

The high-scoring win on the Hi-Line elevated UMW’s overall record to 6-3 and Frontier Conference mark to 5-3, while extending the Bulldogs’ winning streak over MSUN to an unlucky 13 for the Lights.

Nate the Great Simkins breaks career TD record

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University of Montana Western’s Nate Simkins matched a one-game TD record and pulled himself above all others in an even more impressive category during his Bulldogs 63-7 win over Montana State University-Northern on Saturday in Havre.

The senior wide receiver notched 8 catches for 154 yards and 3 TDs to equal the UMW singlegame TD reception high-water mark he shares with Bulldog alums Craig Cornelius, Walker McItrick, Hannes Boundy and himself (on four previous occasions).

Bulldog netters head toward season’s end

The University of Montana Western volleyball team headed further down the stretch of its fall 2021 campaign in Dillon last weekend.

On Friday night, the Bulldogs lost to the University of Providence in Straugh Gymnasium—where they fell the next afternoon to Montana State University-Northern.

Overcoming the University of Providence Argos (21-2 overall, 8-0 in the league, ranked no. 8 in the entire NAIA) always looked the daunting task.

Montana Western men go 1-1 at Oregon basketball tournament

The University of Montana Western men’s basketball team lost one, won one and made about as respectable a showing in another over the past week.

Playing in a tourney in La Grande, Oregon, the Bulldogs got on the wrong end of a 67-61 result with hosts Eastern Oregon University on Saturday, a day after topping Walla Walla University, 88-65.

Jalen Hodges paced Western with 38 points, while teammate Max Clark accumulated ten dimes for Western, which got a dozen rebounds from Colter Miller in the two games.

Netters win league with wins to end season

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The Dillon Lady Beavers completed the first step on their journey to win a state volleyball championship on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep of East Helena on Senior Night at B.W. Lodge Gymnasium. The win, coupled with a sweep at Hamilton on Thursday, ensured Dillon the #1 seed at the Southwestern A Conference Tourney at Corvallis on Friday and Saturday.

Beavers open playoff at Sidney

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The Dillon Beavers completed their run of seven straight victories following two losses to open the season to secure fifth place in the Western A with a 28-0 win at Ronan on Thursday night. Dillon countered a defense intent on stopping Dillon’s running game with a passing attack featuring sophomore quarterback Kee Christiansen and senior receiver Jonathan Kirkley. Christiansen threw 32 passes and completed 19 for 263 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Kirkley hauled in 5 of the throws for 155 yards and three touchdowns.

UMW mens bball routs YCC in weekend doubleheader

All in all, it proved a pretty promising start to the college career of a new University of Montana Western men’s basketball player Ky Kouba.

And a fine start to his team’s 2021–22 season.

A true freshman guard, Kouba earned Frontier Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors for his 48-point, 16-rebound outburst across UMW’s season-opening double header sweep of Yellowstone Christian College last weekend.

Cubs baseball seeking next Papa Bear

Good candidates continue to step forward but the Dillon Cubs American Legion baseball team remains open to more applicants for its vacant head coaching position.

“We want to have somebody hired before the end of November, because that is when we start finalizing next season’s schedule,” said Dillon Cubs Board President Justin Fox.

“But really, the sooner the better.”

The main qualifications for the position: loving baseball and helping develop young men enough to sacrifice a lot of the time you’d spend during warmweather months doing other things you love.

Dawgs lose epic double OT heartbreaker in Idaho

Near anything could happen in the coming three weeks wrapping up Frontier Conference football’s regular season.

Even the unlikely series of events that would lead to the University of Montana Western gaining the league title and a spot in the NAIA playoffs.

Because near everything except the likely seems to have happened during the first seven games of the Frontier season—right through UMW’s double-overtime, three-ring-circus of a 48-42 road loss to the College of Idaho Coyotes on Saturday.